U.S. patent application number 14/521648 was filed with the patent office on 2015-04-30 for household built-in appliance with a specific exterior width measurement in the form of a non-even imperial measurement, apparatus with a recess and a plurality of built-in appliances, and method for fitting built-in appliances in a recess.
The applicant listed for this patent is BSH BOSCH UND SIEMENS HAUSGERATE GmbH. Invention is credited to Alexander Gorz.
Application Number | 20150115789 14/521648 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 52811617 |
Filed Date | 2015-04-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150115789 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Gorz; Alexander |
April 30, 2015 |
HOUSEHOLD BUILT-IN APPLIANCE WITH A SPECIFIC EXTERIOR WIDTH
MEASUREMENT IN THE FORM OF A NON-EVEN IMPERIAL MEASUREMENT,
APPARATUS WITH A RECESS AND A PLURALITY OF BUILT-IN APPLIANCES, AND
METHOD FOR FITTING BUILT-IN APPLIANCES IN A RECESS
Abstract
The invention relates to a household built-in appliance, which
is configured to be built into a recess and has an exterior
housing, the exterior housing having an exterior width, which has a
non-even measurement in inches, its number before the decimal point
being 17 or 23 and its portion after the decimal point being
smaller than or equal to 0.5. The invention also relates to an
apparatus with a recess and a plurality of built-in appliances, as
well as a method for fitting built-in appliances into a recess.
Inventors: |
Gorz; Alexander; (Aalen,
DE) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
BSH BOSCH UND SIEMENS HAUSGERATE GmbH |
Munchen |
|
DE |
|
|
Family ID: |
52811617 |
Appl. No.: |
14/521648 |
Filed: |
October 23, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
312/401 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47B 77/08 20130101;
F25D 23/10 20130101; F25D 2500/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
312/401 |
International
Class: |
A47B 77/08 20060101
A47B077/08; F25D 23/10 20060101 F25D023/10 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 25, 2013 |
DE |
10 2013 221 771.4 |
Claims
1. A household built-in appliance which is configured to be built
into a recess and has an exterior housing wherein the exterior
housing has an actual exterior width, which has a non-even
measurement in inches, its number before the decimal point being 17
or 23 and its portion after the decimal point being smaller than or
equal to 0.5.
2. The household built-in appliance as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the exterior width is between 17.1 inches and 17.4 inches, in
particular 17.25 inches.
3. The household built-in appliance as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the exterior width is between 23.1 inches and 23.4 inches, in
particular 23.25 inches.
4. The household built-in appliance as claimed in claim 1, wherein
it is a household refrigeration appliance, in particular a
refrigerator.
5. An apparatus with a recess, the actual width of which is
configured to accommodate a plurality of built-in appliances and
which has a first household built-in appliance configured as
claimed in claim 1, and at least one second built-in household
appliance that has a different actual exterior width from the first
household built-in appliance.
6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the actual width of
the recess is 41.5 inches or 47.5 inches.
7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the actual exterior
width of the built-in household appliance has a non-even
measurement in inches and the portion after the decimal point is
greater than 0.5.
8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the actual exterior
width is between 17.6 and 17.9, in particular 17.75, or between
23.6 and 23.9, in particular 23.75.
9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein a first household
built-in appliance and a second built-in household appliance have a
shared electrical connection to link them to a network
connection.
10. A method for fitting built-in appliances into a recess, wherein
the recess is supplied with an actual width for accommodating a
plurality of household built-in appliances and at least such a
number of household built-in appliances configured as built-in
household appliances in respect of their exterior width are built
in, that there is no space for a further built-in household
appliance in the remaining recess space and a first household
built-in appliance configured as claimed in claim 1 is built into
the remaining recess space.
Description
[0001] The invention relates to a household built-in appliance,
which is configured to be built into a recess and has an exterior
housing. The invention further relates to an apparatus with a
recess, the width of which is configured to accommodate a plurality
of built-in appliances, and a method for fitting built-in
appliances in a recess.
[0002] A modular built-in refrigeration appliance platform from the
applicant is known. It consists of different individual appliances.
These fully integrable individual appliances are known in different
appliance embodiments, for example refrigerators and freezers,
which are respectively configured with or without an ice-making
apparatus or an ice/water dispenser. Appliance embodiments in the
form of wine bottle storage appliances or combinations of the cited
appliances are also known. The different cited embodiments are also
available in different appliance widths, based on imperial
dimensions, which are standard for example for kitchen units in
North America. The exterior measurements of these appliances of the
known modular built-in household appliance platform are dimensioned
in such a manner that dimensions of 18 inches (18''), 24 inches, 30
inches and 36 inches can be accommodated, it being possible to
build the appliances in individually or as a combination.
[0003] In contrast to built-in refrigeration appliances of European
design, these appliances are not built into a housing unit but are
inserted into a gap and thus into a recess, such an operation being
effected as with built-under refrigeration appliances or built-in
dishwashers.
[0004] The advantage of this existing dimensional design is that
consistency and flexibility are achieved in respect of planning for
a kitchen fitted with built-in refrigeration appliances. In the
planning phase any standard unit carcass measuring 18 inches, 24
inches, 30 inches, 36 inches can in principle be replaced by a
refrigeration appliance of the modular built-in refrigeration
appliance platform. The same applies to any combination of two or
more such refrigeration appliances. The dimensional structure of
the appliances and the connecting technology for the appliances are
such that a built-in measurement with a whole number of inches
always results for any arrangement and a corresponding row of unit
carcasses can thus be replaced. The standard nominal 42 inch and 48
inch combinations can also be achieved by combining different
individual appliances, as cited above, in a very wide range of
configurations.
[0005] The dimensional design of the modular built-in refrigeration
appliance platform is such that an individual appliance is a
quarter of an inch narrower than the nominal measurement. A nominal
18 inch appliance of the known built-in household appliance
platform therefore has actual exterior width dimensions of 173/4
inches, a nominal 24 inch appliance has actual exterior dimensions
of 233/4 inches, etc. When built into a predefined recess with a
whole-number opening measurement there is therefore clearance of an
eighth of an inch on both sides.
[0006] The components for connecting two appliances are also
configured in such a manner that there is a gap of twice one eighth
of an inch and therefore a quarter of an inch between two connected
appliances. This means that when individual appliances are lined up
in any manner the distance to the limits of the recess is in turn
always one eighth of an inch.
[0007] It is therefore possible always to use identical connecting
parts and fitting parts, for example fitting parts, and also the
planning principles remain consistently the same. The dimensional
design of the modular built-in refrigeration appliance platform
therefore offers the user a high level of flexibility and has
become well established.
[0008] However it should be noted that other built-in appliances,
in particular standard traditional built-in refrigeration
appliances in North America, are not designed for recesses with
whole-number imperial dimensions. These recesses, referred to
hereafter as traditional recesses, are generally half an inch
smaller than the nominal measurement. The housings of the
conventional traditional appliances described are in turn a whole
inch narrower than the nominal designation describes so that there
is a quarter of an inch clearance on both sides. This traditional
dimensional design is standard for nominal 30 inch, 36 inch, 42
inch and 48 inch appliances. However there are also instances in
which two such appliances are built in next to one another, with
the manufacturer stipulating recess measurements which cannot be
determined simply by adding the described recess sizes. Thus the
traditional US recess for two 30 inch appliances is defined as
593/4 inches. It should be noted that the nominal measurement
results from the appliances generally having a frame at the front,
which increases the exterior width as measured horizontally when
the appliance is positioned and oriented correctly for use compared
with the region in this front region of the appliance, making it
wider than at a rear point or in a rear region where the actual
measurement is present, when viewed in the depthwise direction.
[0009] The object of the present invention is therefore to create a
household built-in appliance, an apparatus and a method for fitting
built-in appliances into a specific recess, which allow a more
flexible option for combing the appliances.
[0010] This object is achieved by a household built-in appliance,
an apparatus and a method as claimed in the independent claims.
[0011] An inventive household built-in appliance is configured to
be built into a recess and has an exterior housing. The recess is
specified such that it is not a unit providing housing at the
sides, top and bottom but forms a gap, into which the built-in
appliance can be inserted.
[0012] It is an important concept of the invention that the
exterior housing of the household built-in appliance has an actual
(and therefore not nominal) exterior width as measured horizontally
when the appliance is positioned and oriented correctly for use,
said exterior width having a non-even measurement in inches, its
number before the decimal point being 17 or 23 and its portion
after the decimal point being smaller than or equal to 0.5. An
embodiment of a household built-in appliance with such a
specifically dimensioned width allows the best possible utilization
of the entire width and therefore full occupation of the recess
apart from the necessary (e.g. for ventilation and/or fitting
access) air gaps between, for example, the edges and the wall of
said recess even with conventional traditional recesses, in which
one or more known built-in household appliances of an appliance
platform are accommodated. When conventional traditional appliances
in such a traditional recess are to be moved or replaced, the
installation of an inventive household built-in appliance allows
full utilization of the available recess width. In combination with
other conventional appliances from the modular built-in appliance
platform this allows a module-type structure of an entire line of
appliances in a recess, it being possible for these to be built
individually and with a very close fit into said recess.
[0013] A particular advantage of this inventive household built-in
appliance is that these specific exterior widths allow a
combination of existing built-in household appliances of the known
modular platform with a nominal width of 18 inches and 24 inches,
so that a modular built-in appliance platform in particular
results, the appliances of which can also be built into the
traditional and standard US recesses cited above, thereby allowing
maximum utilization of the width of said traditional recesses to be
achieved apart from the required gap measurements. Also all the
connecting and fitting parts of the appliance platform can still be
used without having to be changed.
[0014] In particular US recesses of nominal width 42 inches and 48
inches can therefore be occupied extensively and to a maximum, so
that the individual replacement of appliances or the retrofitting
of such a traditional recess line with corresponding appliances is
also possible here. Such an embodiment of an, as it were, single
individual household built-in appliance means that it is no longer
necessary to provide an entire appliance platform with individual
width dimensions and in very different configurations in respect of
its embodiments and the plurality of options. It is thus possible
for the entire appliance platform with its appliances to remain
identical in width and for any composition of built-in household
appliances of conventional exterior width to be achieved with just
a single specific household built-in appliance, as defined by the
invention, in order to comply with the respective specific
measurements of the traditional North American recesses, in
particular 42 inches and 48 inches.
[0015] Modularity and combination options are very diverse in this
context.
[0016] However if the individual appliances available until now
were also offered in different widths for each appliance platform,
this would involve major development outlay and would mean an
impossibly large number of appliance variations. A further
disadvantage of such an embodiment and procedure would be that the
connecting parts and fitting parts would then have to be configured
individually in a different manner, it would not be possible to
have units fronts of the same width in each individual instance and
the combining system of the appliance arrangement would no longer
function consistently.
[0017] The invention will counteract all the cited disadvantages in
the simplest manner, thereby achieving a plurality of important
advantages. Of course the household built-in appliance can also
otherwise be fitted individually in a freestanding manner or can be
positioned in an individual manner for the user, in some instances
also further from other appliances.
[0018] Provision is preferably made for the actual exterior width
to be between 17.1 inches and 17.4 inches, in particular 17.25
inches. In an alternative embodiment provision is made for the
actual exterior width to be between 23.1 inches and 23.4 inches, in
particular 23.25 inches. These are particularly advantageous
measurements, which reinforce the advantages cited above.
[0019] Provision is preferably made for the household built-in
appliance to be a household refrigeration appliance. In particular
it is a refrigerator.
[0020] The existing modular built-in appliance platform includes
appliances categorized under the nominal measurement of 18 inches
in the form of a freezer, a freezer with an ice-maker, a freezer
with an ice and water dispenser and a wine bottle storage
appliance. The appliances with the nominal exterior measurement of
24 inches include a freezer, a freezer with an ice-maker, a freezer
with an ice and water dispenser, a wine bottle storage appliance
and a refrigerator as standard-household built-in appliances.
[0021] Since of the possible combination appliances already
existing in the platform only very few refrigerators are available,
the embodiment of the inventive household built-in appliance as a
refrigerator is particularly advantageous. It is then possible to
fit a plurality of functionally useful appliance combinations very
extensively in particular for the two traditional North American
recess measurements of 42 inches and 48 inches with just one new
appliance.
[0022] In this context a recess thus specified can therefore be
fitted with a close fit with a freezer and a refrigerator or a
freezer with an ice-maker and also a refrigerator or a freezer with
an ice and water dispenser and also a refrigerator or a wine bottle
storage appliance and also a refrigerator.
[0023] The invention also relates to an apparatus with a recess,
the width of which is configured to accommodate a plurality of
built-in appliances, and which has at least one first household
built-in appliance configured according to the invention or an
advantageous embodiment thereof, and a household built-in appliance
referred to as a conventional second built-in household appliance,
in particular an appliance belonging to the known modular appliance
platform, in respect of its actual exterior width as measured
horizontally when the appliance is positioned and oriented
correctly for use.
[0024] The invention also relates to a method for fitting built-in
appliances in a recess, wherein the recess is supplied with a width
for accommodating a plurality of household built-in appliances and
at least such a number of household built-in appliances configured
as conventional built-in household appliances in respect of the
exterior width as measured horizontally when the appliance is
positioned and oriented correctly for use is built in that there is
no space for a further conventional built-in household appliance in
the remaining recess space and a first household built-in appliance
configured according to the invention or an advantageous embodiment
thereof is built in the remaining recess space.
[0025] The specific values of parameters for defining geometric
properties cited in the documentation should also be considered to
be covered by the scope of the invention in the context of
deviations, for example due to manufacturing tolerances,
measurement errors, system errors, DIN tolerances, etc.
[0026] Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described in more
detail below with reference to schematic drawings, in which:
[0027] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a first exemplary
embodiment of an apparatus; and
[0028] FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a second exemplary
embodiment of an inventive apparatus.
[0029] Identical elements or those of identical function are shown
with identical reference characters in the figures.
[0030] FIG. 1 shows a plan view of a first exemplary embodiment of
an apparatus 1, which has a recess 2 which is not a recess bordered
at the periphery (top, bottom, sides) by unit elements but is a
recess as cited above and defined in the introduction.
[0031] The recess 2 has an interior width dimension B, which is
nominally categorized as 42 inches but is actually 411/2
inches.
[0032] In the illustrated exemplary embodiment two built-in
appliances are built into this recess 2, with a standard-household
built-in appliance or a conventional built-in household appliance 3
of known exterior width belonging to a modular built-in appliance
platform, the exterior width b1 of an exterior housing 3a of which
is categorized as the nominal exterior width of 18 inches and is
therefore actually 17.75 inches, being built in. Also arranged in
this recess 2 is an exemplary embodiment of an inventive household
built-in appliance 4, the exterior housing 4a of which has an
actual exterior width b2 of 23.25 and is thus categorized with a
nominal measurement of 23.5. Such an embodiment and fitting option
means that a conventional traditional 42 inch recess 2, which has
an actual interior measurement of 41.5 inches is occupied to the
maximum and the remaining air gaps to the recess edges and between
the two built-in appliances 3 and 4 are configured for standard
fitting parts and the required air circulation distances and are
provided in the standard manner. In particular the horizontally
measured distances between the appliance exterior walls and the
inner faces of the recess 2 are around 1/8 inch, in particular 1/8
inch.
[0033] FIG. 2 shows a plan view of a further exemplary embodiment
of an apparatus 1. In contrast to the diagram in FIG. 1 the nominal
width of the recess 2 here is categorized as 48 inches and the
actual true width B is 47.5 inches.
[0034] Built into this recess 2 is a known built-in household
appliance 3' with an exterior housing 3a', which is categorized as
having a nominal width of 24 inches and has an actual true exterior
measurement of 23.75.
[0035] Also built into this recess 2' is an exemplary embodiment of
an inventive household built-in appliance 4' with an exterior
housing 4a', the actual exterior width b2 of the exterior housing
4a' in turn being 23.5 inches and therefore being categorized as a
nominal width of 23.5 inches.
[0036] It is therefore also possible to fit the recesses 2 and 2'
differently and for the household built-in appliance 4 or 4' also
then to be configured with a width b2 of 17.25 inches.
[0037] In both exemplary embodiments the air gaps between the
exterior housings 3a and 4a and 3a' and 4a' and the limits of the
recess 2 as well as the distance between the exterior housings 3a
and 4a and 3a' and 4a' measure a total of 0.5 inches.
[0038] Similarly the positions of the appliances in the recess 2
and 2' can also be different, so that the appliance 4, 4' can also
be arranged in the left in the views in FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0039] Provision can be made for both appliances 3 and 4 or 3' and
4' to have a shared electrical connection to link them electrically
to a network connection and thus to be configured practically as a
combination appliance in this respect.
LIST OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS
[0040] 1 Apparatus [0041] 2, 2' Recess [0042] 3, 3' Standard
household built-in appliance [0043] 3a, 3a' Exterior housing [0044]
4, 4' Household built-in appliance [0045] 4a, 4a' Exterior housing
[0046] b Width [0047] b1 Exterior width [0048] b2 Exterior
width
* * * * *